Marin officials eye Japanese nuclear plant plume

FILE - In this Thursday, Sept. 19, 2013 file photo, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, third right, wearing a red helmet, is briefed about tanks containing radioactive water by Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant chief Akira Ono, fourth right, during his inspection tour to the tsunami-crippled plant in Okuma, Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan, following a series of radioactive water leak from the tanks. A government panel proposed additional measures to lessen the contaminated water crisis at Japan's crippled nuclear power plant, saying Tuesday, Dec. 3, that current plans are not enough to prevent the risk of a disaster. (AP Photo/Japan Pool, File) JAPAN OUT

Concern that a radioactive plume is headed for the West Coast from the crippled Japanese Fukushima nuclear plant has prompted Marin County officials to monitor the situation.

Although no one knows for sure what perils if any may be in store, fears about toxic pollution have prompted supervisors Susan Adams and Steve Kinsey to ask that public safety, health and coastal staff track the issue.

Adams has asked county emergency services, fire and health officials "how they would respond"....if there was an incident" involving the plant, and Kinsey, a state coastal commissioner, has asked the state staff to be on alert for more information as well.

"Monitoring reports to date have not identified any current threats to the health of our community, so there is no need for panic," Adams said. "Obviously, from a public health and environmental perspective, the risks to Californians from radioactive contamination if the Fukushima facility is not repaired to the highest standards remains of concern."

Adams, a maternity nurse who heads the county's Disaster Council, said she directed health and emergency services officials "to provide an update" to the council later this month. "I will also be contacting our state and federal representatives to learn more about what is being done to ensure the health and safety of our people and our resources from any future nuclear incident at the Fukushima plant," she said.

Kinsey said testing of state coastal waters is underway by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. He added he has asked state coastal staffers to review the situation. A Coastal Commission report is expected by next spring.

"The water quality of our ocean is critical for both ecologic and food supply purposes," Kinsey noted. "Relying on the assurances of the nuclear plant operator or an embarrassed Japanese government is not sufficient."

Kinsey added he was "pleased that California's science-based organizations are stepping up to monitor and test our water quality, because the public needs neither fear-mongering nor wishful thinking at this time."

Civic Center officials are not alone in expressing concern about the situation. A resolution under consideration in Fairfax goes a step further, calling on the United Nations to appoint a special commission of experts to investigate the plant, come up with solutions to minimize contamination and report back.

While county officials point out that while concern is justified, there is no reason for alarm pending scientific study. But even experts do not know what, exactly, to expect when ocean waters carrying nuclear contaminants reach the West Coast in two or three years. How much of a threat will it pose? Will waves contaminated with cesium and strontium pollute the coast?

The uncertain pace of progress in dealing with the disaster in Japan raises concern among international observers, with a growing crisis in which the Fukushima Daiichi plant could run out of storage space for toxic water within two years. The Associated Press this week noted that radioactive water has been leaking from damaged reactors and mixing with groundwater since an earthquake and tsunami in 2011 destroyed the plant's power and cooling systems, prompting three reactors to melt and damaging a fourth building. Experts say the water eventually will be released into the sea.